Financier James Ling bought Temco and Chance Vought companies
and formed one of America's biggest conglomerates. He named it after himself,
Ling-Temco-Vought. For the first time, Locals 1081, 390, and 893 had a common
employer. The company was later re-organized, without the high-flying Ling, as
LTV. The unions came together as UAW Local 848 in 1962. Billy Owens, President
of Local 893, won the first election for President.

The first contract was dated October 1, 1962. There were
problems in combining the contracts of the three locals because individuals
with seniority under their old contracts wanted to maintain the provisions that
gave them advantages. Eventually, a number of employees were
"red-lined" to keep their benefits under old contracts; but most
Local 848 members functioned under the same contracts from that time forward.

The local proudly dedicated its new union hall on January 28,
1967. They had previously used offices in a downtown Grand Prairie office
building, a converted service station in Dallas, a site at Main & Baghdad,
and a run-down bowling alley near the LTV plant. The union used offices at 909
Dalworth in Grand Prairie while their new union hall was being constructed on
the old bowling alley site. In 1963, the union named its newsletter, "The Texas Aerospacer."

When Local 848 won the Christmas shutdown in 1968, they had
already solidified a long list of important victories. They even negotiated
Supplemental Unemployment Benefits (SUB), which is common in auto workers'
contracts but unusual in the aerospace industry. Our local had to let the
system go in 1972 when it was conceded that the level of layoffs made SUB
impractical in aerospace. Local 848 helped the plant guards form their union,
UPGWA 263.

The UAW left the AFL-CIO, partially over disagreements
concerning support to the war in Vietnam. On May 7, 1970, UAW President Walter
P. Reuther wrote a long telegram to President Nixon condemning the bombing of
Cambodia. On the next day, Walter and May Reuther were killed in a plane crash.
Leonard Woodcock became President of the UAW as Reuther's personal domination of
the UAW ended.

In September, 1969, Ling's empire was in trouble. He met at the
sumptuous recreation area known as Eagle Ranch in South Texas. Here are some of
the executives at the meeting: Vanda Davidson, M.D.; Robert McCulloch, who came
to America as an immigrant machinist from Scotland in the 1920s and founded Temco;
Roscoe Haynie, former President of Wilson & Company meatpackers; Sanders
Campbell, Dallas real-estate developer; Rich Thomas, vice president and
executive assistant to Ling; Clyde Skeen, LTV president; William J Stephens,
chairman of the board of Jones & Laughlin Steel; Harding L. Lawrence,
chairman of board and CEO of Braniff Airways; Paul Thayer, CEO of LTV aircraft;
E. Grant Fitts, CEO and President, Gulf Life Holding Co; William H. Osborn,
partner in the firm of Lehman Brothers, investment bankers to LTV; and Gustave
L. Levy, former chairman of the board of governors of the New York Stock
Exchange.

Ling received much financial backing from Bank of America. (pg
25)

Pg 25: In 1969, Wilson & Company sold nearly $1.3 billion
worth of meat. Jones & Laughlin sold $1 billion in steel. Braniff brought
in $300 million. LTV aerospace sold more than $700 million worth of planes and
aerospace hardware. Wilson Sporting Goods sold $100 million. "Other LTV
subsidiaries were making chemicals and drug products, high fidelity and
communications equipment, $200 million worth of wire, cable , and floor
coverings from Okonite, and lots more in factories employing more than 120,000
people scattered all over the country.

'Total sales of the whole complex would top $3.75 billion in
1969...."

"The little electrical contracting company that Ling had
started the whole thing with wasn't even part of the sprawling enterprise any
more..."

pg 48: Ling didn't finish highschool.

pg 49: Ling didn't rise very high in the Navy and was only a
Fireman First Class when he got out..."

pg 50: 1/1/47 organized Ling Electric Company with $2000 in war
surplus electrical equipment and a used truck.

Pg 60 was from Oklahoma

Pg 74: Temco's "biggest success had come from rebuilding
old C-54s, the military version of the DC-4, and fabricating all sorts of metal
products from popcorn machines to aircraft sub-assemblies for other
companies..."

pg 81 on Vought: "The company had been founded in 1917 by
Chance Vought, a pioneer aircraft engineer who learned to fly with the Wright
brothers."

"In the late 1920s, Chance Vought joined with Boeing,
Northrup, Pratt &Whitney, Sikorsky, and other plane and equipment makers as
well as the predecessors of United Airlines to form United Aircraft."

"Immediately following the war, when the Pentagon became
nervous about the heavy concentration of the aircraft industry in New England
and Long Island, United Aircraft was asked to move its Chance Vought division
out of Connecticut and into a portion of the huge government-owned aircraft
plant outside Dallas, part of which would also be occupied by Temco."

Pg 82: United Aircraft had trouble with Pratt & Whitney
engines division. Decided to get rid of Chance Vought in 1958. They made it
into a separate corporation and then spun it off through the distribution of
its stock to United's shareholders as a dividend.

pg 263: After various threats and accusations from primary
funding sources, they reshuffled. Several directors resigned, Ling stepped down
a rung. Other reshuffling. Grant Fitts, Troy Post, and a banker named Bobby
Stewart played major role in bringing crisis to a head. They expected stock to
climb on news of Ling's demotion.

pg 265: stock fell on news of Ling's demotion and of Stewart
coming in ...

pg 281 Ling moved to small suite of offices on 26th floor of LTV
Tower with only 1 secretary. "He sometimes had to answer his own
phone..."

Pg 284: The various conspirators did not continue to run LTV,
but "they left the huge burden of LTV to Paul Thayer"

Pg 294: Author says Ling bought Okonite for $40 million and went
on away from LTV. Author blames Ling's demise primarily on the 1969 reports
from various directors indicating that LTV conglomerates would make $40 million
that year when in fact they only made $2 million.

My own summary of the book: James Ling was a dynamic person who
brought together the capital to make a number of flashy acquisitions. The
mergers themselves caused stock prices to rise, giving the impression that some
economic improvement had been made. But when earnings reports came in, the
investor confidence began to fade. This book puts the entire explanation on the
basis of psychology of various participants. It probably does so in order to
make a more interesting book; but it errs because the real reasons for both
Ling's rise and his fall can be seen in the economics of business mergers.

Eventually, Ling lost the confidence of his financial backers
and moved to a much smaller-scale operation. The working people of the LTV
components and their various unions are not even mentioned in the book.

--Gene Lantz

January 12,
1991

___________________

Organizing
Vought Took a Fight

Interview
with Bob & Helen Mason

Taken at Retirees' Meeeting 9/12/91

Bob Mason was a member of UAW-CIO Local 893 at Chance Vought during
its birth in 1949. He has served as an officer. During 1984-85, Mason was one
of the firees, "Victors." His father, Charles Cornelius Moll, was the
first President of Local 893. Bob was the first elections committee head.

Robert L. Mason born 1924, September 1st. Mother married Charles
Cornelius Moll 1925. For first 5 years, Bob lived in Perrin Illinois. Joined
parents in Detroit in 1929.

Dad was in the Flint sit down strike 1937. He was a welder. Moll
worked for Gm for 19 years. Then he drifted down to Dallas area. Lived in a
trailer park.

When Bob got out of the military Moll lived somewhere in the Grand
Prairie area. Bob came to Texas in 1948 and lived with them in trailer park for
a short while.

Bob married Helen in 1946. Moved to the Love field area. They were
living in Stephens Park in Dallas when Bob got a job at Vought in 1949. Up to
this time, he had never been in a union. He filled out an application at
Vought's hiring hall in town. They offered $1.03/hr.

Went to work in sheet metal at $1.09 "Got a 6 cents raise
before I ever went to work". April 8, 1949, went to work in sheet metal.

"They were still in the process of organizing the plant, so I
got in on that too. Passed out cards, got people to sign them. All on my own
time. If they caught you doing it on company time, they'd fire you." Had
never been around union. Received no bounty for signing up new members.
"Even if they were getting it, I didn't take it". Dad was organizing,
too. He knew a lot of people in the International. He was a good friend of
Walter Reuther. Johnny Vincent was the head honcho in District 5 at that time,
with the International. Hiram Moon was helping organize. All were friends of
Charles Moll.

"I didn't always agree with Hiram Moon, but he wasn't too
bad." After we won certification and held officer elections, Bob was the
first Chairman of the eledcion committee. He and Roy Evans had to take a trip
to Ardmore, Oklahoma, to get votes from Vought employees there. "The first
jet they built in this plant, I think it was called the Pirate."

Later on elected first steward in breaks and rolls, stretch
presses. "I forget how long I held the job as union steward, nobody else
wanted it." I guess 4 years. "Back in those days it was tough being a
steward. The only way you ever got out of the unit was when another foreman
called for you... They really kept you under their thumb." Why did he give
up being steward? "Somebody wanted it so I let him have it."

In 1962 he went to work for a Metroplitan Life Insurance Co in Ft
Worth. Later opened up a grocery store, then a service station. Had a lot of
friends from LTV and they kept trying to get me to come back to work. So
"I came back in 1966. Had to start over on seniority. Had lost 13
years." (He's smiling as he tells me all this.) "I got zilch out of
that 13 years."

Became steward again in 1986 before he retired.

In 1984 they brought him into Labor relations and fired him on May
23, 1984. The charge was "refusing to work overtime," which was
precisely the union's program. He could easily have retired rather than stand
up to the company. Why didn't he retire? "They made me mad. Besides, I
would have missed all the fun!" I just didn't show up for overtime, I
didn't think the punishment fit the crime.

Had 18 years official seniority when he got fired. Could have
retired.

He was the first one fired. Afternoon of April 23rd.

While fired, he stood on the gates and tried to build the union.

Bob had played Santa Claus at the union Christmas party the year
before they fired him. They made a point of saying, "LTV fired Santa
Claus". He was 60 years old then, not the oldest firee. Brook Ferrar was
older than Bob.

After Charlie Moll was President, he went back to work in the
plant.

Shortly thereafter he went into the International as a rep.
"They moved, it seems to me, every 6 months or so. "They lived in a
travel trailer. They were living in it in Houston when my mother died. After
she died he sold the travel trailer and lived in motels after that."

Eventually he moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Born in 1900. Retired
around 1965 from UAW. "He was always a union man. He talked more about
that than he did anything. He doesn't travel any more."

Evans was an early organizer of Local 893 at Vought. He went on
to become the local's president, a statewide union figure, and an expert on
union contracts dealing with workmen's compensation. These are mostly his own
words:

Roy R. Evans came to work August 1948 at Chance Vought.

Got involved in union on the day that UAW and CIO organizers
were out on the gate. Started writing for the paper, 4 page slick sheet weekly,
Hank Raybun, CIO publicity man did the editing. UAW-CIO News. He has every
issue and will let me xerox.

At age 23, he ran for President in 1949. He led the organizing
campaign. His twin brother, too. Ray. Ray ran as VP on 2nd election. They had
one year terms. Then Roy elected.

Was Chairman of shop committee during fight over badges in 1953.
Not 1951 as Day says. President of Dallas CIO 51-53.

He is writing a book. Moving to Austin in September 1991. At
that time he will finish book or give everything to UTA Professor George Green.
Fight over badges was "a stupid thing the company did". Charley Scott
saw a good chance to build up morale."

Of Local 893's big wins: NLRB election. Company thought they
would win. They had a huge table at cafeteria for their ballots. Management
representative Marty Burke came in from United Aircraft. Had all the press
there. He was going to sit over the election and watch the union's demise. I
think the union ended up getting 76% of the vote at our little table. UAW had
lions share. UAW and IAM got most votes." IBEW won electricians. UTA
archives has interviews

with Hank Raybun, me, others who worked in the campaign."

Second big thing was when company filed decert. Roy was not
popular with international. They were scared to death. "Machine Gun
lips" Wise Stone came down. Good person.

Evans said at the time, "People in there want a union, they
just don't want to pay for it."

We had less than 50% of the bargaining unit signed up for the
union before the decertification election began, but we won the decert by a
large margin. 1956 was year that AFL joined CIO. Actually 1957 in Texas.

Roy was President of Dallas CIO 1951-53. After merger, local
continued in central labor council until mid 60s when Reuther pulled UAW out.
Roy was Secretary Treasurer of Texas AFL-CIO.

Another high point was strike around 1954. When Roy took
presidency, he had to stay in shop because local was too broke to have him on
full time. Got local back in financial shape. No trips were paid for by the
local until then.

On women, suggests an interview with Frenchy Stone or Eleanora
Purcell. "She had the balls of 3 men", Evans says. Her Husband, Red
Purcell, was an organizer for the CIO. "She was a real plus in that plant.
A strong, strong person."

"Most of the things I accomplished were because of the CIO.
Trouble with IBEW settling early." Trouble with the union higher up.
Walter Reuther wasn't the problem, but the regional office was."

Roy was NAACP member. Hempfield, Black with college education,
was sweeping floors in the plant. Dean Sabine was President after Cornelius
Moll. Railroad Smith is 75 years old in 1990. Was first coordinator of
retirement program. 300 people came to the union hall every week during Roy's
leadership program.

Lost election and left labor movement in 1973. Worked for
Department of Labor until retirement in 1990.

Railroad Smith got $1.38 per hour at Vought. Had been making
$.50 before.

On civil rights, Roy says, "It was pretty bad." Worst
part was job discrimination. They would not put Blacks on the machines. Right
after Roy's election the first Black went on a machine. 1956. Vice President
Nixon had a good position personally on race. He put pressure on aircraft
companies. NAACP and CIO put most of the pressure on.

Hemphill ran for trustee with Roy in 1949. Company sponsored
campaign against Evans, one issue was "he will put theb lacks on the
machines." Yes, there were black officers while Evans was President. First
black steward was a brilliant guy with personality plus named Herschel
Matthews. Mathews, Local 893 President Charley Scott and his wife Rita were
very close personal

friends. He was popular. Became the first African American
officer of the local probably in early 50s.

Women were hired to work on electrical boards. A few in clerks.

At Temco local, Pancho Medrano was close friend of Evans. They
had Black officers.

"Hit and run strike" was as much Evans idea as
anybody's. Found out what people would do and what they wanted via a poll &
2 or 3 surveys. 1957. Had all GP police cars, some sheriffs and some Dallas
police. We put up an informational picket. Game of nerves. They thought it was
a strike. We finally did strike them.

We just shut down certain crucial parts of the plant. We found
out where they could hurt the most. Told everybody else to go on in and work.
"It wasn't really that original" We just thought it would be best
since we didn't think there could be an effective full shutdown. A slowdown in
critical parts of shop was best strategy.

Hit and run strike worked. We got some of what we wanted.
"We got the company's respect and that was the main thing."

During the badge deal, George Dull walked through the line and
went

to work. This was after his presidency.

Local 893 never won COLA.

AFTER NLRB election, company built an army of anti union people
for 5-6 years. Chamber of commerce had guaranteed them that there wouldn't be
any union down here. Probably 1/3 of the 10,000 employed were anti-labor hired
especially for that purpose. Red Skerritt's major program was to build anti
union people. He

used to be chief steward in Connecticut.

Texas
became "right to work in 1948" "Nobody who knew anything about
labor supported right to work".

_____________

Interview
With Everett V Day

Everett V Day started July 11, 1951 at Chance Vought.

Jack Horton was a popular vice president under Nova Howard. Died
in office.

Went to school to learn a trade. Had service related disability.
Machinist,hand forming too much heavy work. Labor relations started to let him
go beforehis 90 day probation. But E.V. had 91 days so they sent him eventually
to tubing. Tube bender was what he ended up.

30 years plus with Vought total. About 1951 Charley Scott was
President of the union. He was out on the gate getting people to wear their
badges over Company was charging $5 for lost badges. "In case lost, mail
to Local 848 and we will return it". Plastic. Company said you couldn't
wear them. This was how E.V. Day got involved in the union. "I stood there
and bumped shoulders and tried to keep people from coming in". "2
weeks after the lockout, I got a call that Charley Scott wanted to see
me." He wanted E.V. to become a union steward.. 1 term (year), then
committeeman a year (term), then president 55-56. Then was steward 7-8 times,
on negotiating committee several times. Financial Secretary for UAW Dallas area
council.

Lost about a week on the lockout. Some of the night shift lost 6
days. We won the thing. The company claimed that only 4 or 500 honored it.
Charley Scott was giving checks out to the first 500, then noted that another
2000 were waiting. In front of the news media.

They compromised. They let us use a leather backing
identification instead of the plastic one the union provided.

That was our first struggle, and it was when I first entered
into it. After the first day, they picked up more and more people.

He retired in 1981. Early retirement. Was born 1925. Was
youngest president ever elected to the local. First native Texan. Won the first
arbitration case in the history of the local. he was 29. Had flagpole elected.
First Ex-President to become president of retirees.

He was on layoff during "hit and run strike" during
Roy Evans term. "I have walked many a picket line for other locals to help
them." For example in an aircraft company in Garland.

Chairman of grievance committee was a woman, Eleanor
"Terry" Purcell. Two committees, grievance and negotiations, were
separate. He thinks during Roy Evans' times maybe Billy Owens', time, they
decided to combine the two committees.

Making Corsairs when he hired in 1951. "We were a major
aircraft company" "We built 6 of the VOTL vertical takeoff
airplanes" 15 years before the V-22 at Bell.

____________

Everett
Day is standing on the left (union) side. George Butler to his left. Pancho
Medrano is seated at left, next is Billy Owens, then "Hi" Moon. They
are signing UAW Local 848's first contract in 1962.

_______________

Members
Remember Local's Presidents

Nova
Howard was elected President of Local 848 for the first time in 1967. He lost
to B.J. Meeks in 1969, but won again for a short time in May, 1971.

Although
a young man, B.J. Meeks had already held a number of prominent positions and
made major contributions to the union. He filed a protest of the 1971 election
because the mechanized method of voting had, he maintained, produced an error.
By December, 1971, the UAW International had concluded that Meeks was right and
he was installed for his second term as President. In his public statements,
Howard was gracious in defeat and the transition was a smooth one.

Nova
Howard may be one of the most picturesque individuals that the local has ever
produced. He was a writer of poetry and dramatic statements. Referring to
himself as "The Old Top Cat", he penned a large number of pieces that
enliven the local's archives.

On
at least one occasion, his writing talents were used against him: During the
"Great Society" years of President Lyndon Johnson, LTV decided to
hire a large number of Mexican Americans from an economically depressed border
region of Texas. Pancho Medrano, Sr., who was an international rep with a
special dedication to civil rights, came back to his home local and ran a
successful organizing campaign to get the new LTV workers into the local. When
they held a large meeting at our union hall, President Howard objected. He
particularly did not like it because they were speaking Spanish. He wrote a
long letter to Walter Reuther complaining about the meeting; the letter fell
into Medrano's hands.

Although
the letter was of fine literary interest, it left Howard open to charges of
extreme pettiness and even racism. Medrano had the letter printed and
circulated all through the UAW. He claimed later that Mexican Americans and
other minorities caused Howard to lose the next election.

The
very colorful Nova Howard bounced back to win another union election for
President in 1978. He died in office September 9, 1981.

When former Local 893 President Everett W. Day retired in 1981, a number of
former Presidents joined him for photos. They were Jack Jones, Nova Howard,
B.J. Meeks, Joe Roschie, George Dull, Everett W. Day, Roy Evans, Andy Anderson,
and Billy Owens.

__________________

Interview
With JOHN W. HAMILTON, UNION OFFICER

John Hamilton agreed to sit for an
interview and a picture at the Local 848 retirees' luncheon on March 14, 1991.
Between 1965 and 1983, he served the union as Sergeant at Arms, steward and
committeeman. These are mostly his words:

John W. Hamilton left work at LTV in 1983
after being injured. He jumped from an F8 airplane to reach a control switch to
save another worker's arm. He blames management for the speedup that caused the
accident: "Superintendent was always cutting corners" and allowed
them to work on top of the airplane without having someone at the safety
switch. He was injured in his back by the long jump, "about 35 feet."

Was
the local's Sergeant at Arms, served 7 years. Replaced by Reecie Giesecke.
Elected steward 1967. Bearden was Chief of Labor Relations.

B.J.
Meeks was Chairman of the Grievance Committee in 1967. Railroad Smith was his
Committeeman. Nova Howard was President.

Hamilton
has a firsthand recollection of the fight that preceded the 1967 contract
ratification meeting. He was standing outside the door at Texas Hall at the
university and he heard a scuffle. Inside, Pat Patterson hit President Nova
Howard. Howard hit Patterson back. Pat Patterson was not an officer. "He
always had a gripe. I hated to see him come into a meeting over here. He hauled
off and hit Nova, Nova hit him back. Johnny Miller pulled Patterson off and
downed him, almost stood on his neck. Took place before the meeting. Pat had
some disagreements."

"We
accepted the contract, by 92% I believe."

Patterson
donated a moosehead that hung in the foyer for some time.

Hamilton
was on the Executive Board when Chairman Coy Click brought in a contract
proposal, he said some foul words. Rest of the committee had already said
"no."

"Back
then we policed our runs real close. When they had all the Spanish guys coming
in. They would lay off out of seniority. Johnny Miller was committeeman. Found
a man had been laid off and another man was doing his job. On First step, Jerry
Carr. The foreman nor Superintendents would give us a first step answer. It had
to come from Labor Relations.

'So
we were holding second step with Jerry on this particular guy. He offered to
make them look like 'great white knights'". Suspicious, they called the
hall. Found out that Jerry wanted to do it because the man was a scab. "We
just reached over and tore the damned thing up, before he put anything on it.
It would have looked bad to have brought a scab back in with a month's
pay."

"Mr
Bearden at that time had a liking for a few of us. [Management Representative]
Jerry Carr was one hell of a good man. Jerry would actually sit down and talk
about it. Joe Crisp and others would tend to give us a lot of crap. But Jerry
would sit down to work out a problem."

"That's
the way we run our districts. We didn't file grievances just because somebody
got mad. We only took legitimate grievances."

"Back
in those days, we were union reps. Zone four ,it really stood out in the
grievance procedure." Machine shops, assembly, interplant transportation.
"At one time I had 616 people in my district."

After
they fired Johnny Miller, John Hamilton became Committeeman. "Johnny got
himself fired. He went out on 900 [sickness & accident leave] and just
didn't come back or send in documentation. Jerry Carr was the one who fired
him. I filed a grievance from chapter one through the whole contract."
Hamilton didn't run for the office at that time. Coy click was elected
committeeman around 1972-73.

He
was steward when Reuther died. "It shook the local up, especially the
leadership. The membership didn't really know who the hell Reuther was. But the
leadership was shaken up because he was highly thought of in this leadership.
Local sent flowers, maybe $300 worth. One person attended funeral. Might have
been been BJ or Nova. Roy Kinney was International Rep."

"The
union the way I knew it then, we had control of our people and ourselves. I
don't think it's that way any more."

An
African American man got white slip for allegedly whistling at a white woman in
a mini skirt. John got the superintendent to apologize. White slip was pulled.

Campaigned
against Railroad Smith after he found Smith withdrawing a grievance of his.

Caught
his superintendent putting his time on the union when in fact he had been
working on the airplane. He raised a bunch of hell and got the hours
straightened out. "I would catch him working, and I got more money out of
catching him working than I did what I was making!"

Set
a precedent on working before/after a holiday for holiday pay with one
grievance.